As Ty's hearing developed, he began to understand his mom's words - first only a few when she raised her voice, but soon he could hear almost every word in normal conversation. Only when she whispered or spoke very softly, her words disappeared in the background noise - her heartbeat, the rush of the blood in her veins and occasional sounds from her bowels.
Whenever she talked, Ty listened keenly, trying to get to know his parents. Soon he knew their names, he realized Amanda worked as a lawyer and that all of his grandparents were still alive.
Amanda liked to call her mom and update her on the pregnancy, that way Ty learned that his size was a bit above average according to the OBGYN, that his parents had decided not to find out bis sex before birth and that at 20 weeks her belly was "already soo big, I look like I swallowed a watermelon. Ok, a small watermelon, but still!"
Often Ty fell asleep mid-conversation - he'd have loved to hear more, but apparently his growing body needed the sleep. However, he was awake one evening when his parents had just gone to sleep. He stretched and kicked the wall of the womb, and for the first time Amanda realized that what she felt wasn't just gas. "Wow, they just moved!" she told Jacob, and from the excitement in her voice, her increased pulse and the hormones flooding him, Ty knew he was loved and wanted. He stretched and wiggled some more until he fell asleep, content with his new life that was about to begin.